Q:  Was there a real Sweet Adeline?

A: Yes, but she wasn't always so sweet.  In 1903 composer Henry W. Armstrong and lyricist Richard H. Gerard wrote the song that has become a barbershop quartet signature, "You're the Flower of My Heart, Sweet Adeline." Their inspiration is said to have been opera star Adelina Patti (1843-1919), who dazzled the world for decades.  Her admirers included Charles Dickens, Queen Victoria, President Franklin Pierce, and Russian Czar Nicholas II.  Ardent fans broke windows trying to see Patti perform at concerts and threw themselves at her carriage. 

Always a prima donna, Patti had often refused to sing as a child unless given a new doll. As an adult, she ignited a scandal by carrying on an open affair with a co-star who was married with five children; they steamed up the stage by kissing 21 times during one performance of Romeo and Juliet.  He eventually left his family to become Patti's second husband. At 56, she married her third husband - a Swedish count 30 years her junior.

Above article was submitted by Pete Cooper; it was copied from BIOGRAPHY MAGAZINE/APRIL 2003

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